St. Herman Seminary began its 37th year with two
days of orientation. As a special blessing to the students and faculty, the
founder and builder of St. Herman Seminary, Fr. Joseph Kreta, came to give an
opening inspirational talk. Fr. Joseph shared that the building of the
seminary was a enormous undertaking for one man, but it was only with the help
of God and St. Herman that it was possible to do the work. Fr. Joseph gave this
to be a witness to each of us, that it is with the help of God and His saints
that we also can accomplish God’s work in our life, no matter how difficult or large.
Along with Fr. Joseph there were two other guests who were co-strugglers with
him in the early days of the seminary. First was Ben Ardinger, Director Emeritas on the St. Herman Seminary Board. Mr. Ardinger was an important assistant to Fr.
Joseph as they planned and built the buildings that now form the seminary
campus. The next early founder was Judge Roy Madsen, who spoke about the early
legal assistance he gave the seminary so it could become incorporated
in the state of Alaska.At the end of our meeting, many expressed gratitude for the legacy that they have passed down to us. We thanked them
for sharing the early years of the seminary, asking them to continue
to pray for us.